Eye of the Storm
by RoseMuse
Summary: Temari must help uncover a mystery behind a strange threat to the Sand Village, as well as come to terms with her feelings concerning Shikamaru, who is stranded there. Multi-chaptered. Reviews are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

_Thought I'd try my hand at a multi-chaptered fic, rather than just a drabble! I've always been a bit terrified of writing longer stories, so I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone a little. :p_

_I wanted to come up with some new Shikamaru/Temari fic as my old stuff… is a little lacking in some areas._

_Set post-manga. (Might become AU at some point if it diverges from any canon events.) Rated T for now but might become M later, too._

_Sorry if this first chapter is a little boring and I'm sorry for any mistakes and choppy writing! I won't be updating this too regularly and I'm not sure if I'll finish it, but it seems like a fun experiment and I'll try to do my best!_

_Reviews are very welcome!_

* * *

Waves of heat radiated from the distant hills, though the Hidden Sand Village still managed to remain relatively cool and dry within the shade of its hollowed-out canyon.

It wasn't quite noon yet, but, come 1500 hours, the streets would grow to be just as hot.

After finishing up her paperwork, Temari went to sit out in the hall of the Kage offices with her lunch. Kankuro joined her after a short while, sitting next to her with his own.

Some days, they would switch off with office work for Gaara. (And on the busiest of days, they would both be frantically helping around the offices.) There were plenty of other secretaries and council members who were all too willing to help as much as they could, too. However, Temari and Kankuro were still Gaara's two most trusted advisors.

Kankuro scrubbed a hand into his hair beneath his hood before taking a bite of onigiri.

"Bad sandstorms to the east." He muttered. "Hopefully it'll bring some clouds our way, though."

"Everyone will have to make sure to hold off missions for a day or two - wouldn't want anyone caught out in one of those." Temari frowned. Most sandstorms cropped up during monsoon season, nearer to autumn, but it was only early summer. A rather rare occurrence.

"Speaking of that." Kankuro finished the rest of his onigiri in one bite, "There's a Leaf Ninja that they just brought into the hospital who was caught out in it. Must've been something important or they're just not all that bright." He smirked.

"Oh, come on." Temari snorted, "They obviously don't have the luxury of our dry weather, it's not easy for them to know what to expect." She said acerbically.

They both snickered.

"So, what's Gaara up to?" Kankuro asked.

"Still in a meeting with some jounin - Hisao and Mitsuru. Otherwise we could have all had lunch within the office." She explained, eating the last of her onigiri.

The office doors soon opened a moment after she spoke, the jounin quickly taking their leave.

The two siblings joined their younger brother in the office again, Gaara setting aside the report he was reading upon his wide desk.

Temari nudged the untouched bento upon the desk somewhat concernedly. "Gaara… Do make sure to eat lunch." At times, he would skip meals, or forget entirely - and it worried Temari far more than she liked to admit sometimes.

"I will." Gaara said simply. He serenely took a sip of his now-lukewarm tea as if to assure her.

(Sometimes Temari wondered if he'd taken his stoic composure to a new level of seriousness or if he was merely being very dryly, sarcastically humorous in his responses.) (She suspected the latter.)

Kankuro took a nearby chair, "So. What was that all about?"

"Hisao and Mitsuru just delivered a report on the storm. It doesn't seem to be a natural one." Gaara replied.

"I thought it seemed strange." Temari added.

"It is strange." Gaara agreed. "Whoever is behind it could pose a threat to the Sand. The Leaf ninja who was just brought in from the storm might have more information."

"I'll see to getting that information, then." Temari made to leave, "We'll need to tighten border security, perhaps, as well as issue a warning to the village for now."

Kankuro sighed in annoyance, "As if our workload wasn't heavy enough."

Temari turned to glance back at Gaara. "By the way, who is this Leaf ninja? I might be acquainted with them."

"Shikamaru Nara." He said.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry. Another slightly boring chapter! I'm just a huge stickler for details, but there are some interesting things here and there. I hope. XD This is my first time writing a multi-chaptered story, so I'm a little awkward at it. It's been good practice, though. Also, sorry for mistakes. I have a horrible attention span._

_I'll probably be keeping it rather short - maybe eight chapters?_

_I promise the next chapter will have a lot more to it. ;)_

* * *

"For such a lazy guy, the amount of trouble you manage to get into is astonishing." Temari deadpanned at Shikamaru, sitting across from her in his infirmary bed.

She'd expected something worse, but he'd already been up and about for half an hour, and had merely suffered from some dehydration and heat exhaustion after being delayed by the sandstorm, as well as some sunburn.

"I often wonder about it, myself." She heard him mutter under his breath.

Truth be told, she was glad he was doing alright. But some part of her always felt loose and skittish when he was around. It had been a few months since the last Exams and… Her thoughts trailed off when she noticed that Shikamaru was talking again.

"-I'm assuming you want to know more about the border situation?" He was asking.

"Hm? Oh. Yes." Temari said.

"You seem a little preoccupied." He arched a brow. "Were you were worried about me?"

Temari wasn't quite sure how to respond. Why did he have to ask that? So they'd gone out a little in the past, and she really liked him, but… she just didn't have the time to be dealing with things like that right now.

Any denial would quickly make things awkward, (although she had been worried) so she merely shrugged. "Of course. We wouldn't want to lose a valuable liaison between villages such as yourself. Anyway," She went on, "I'm concerned about what's going on at the border right now - it's seemed pretty uneasy these past few months."

It had taken a year or two, but the ninja alliance had finally been established between the five great hidden villages, and the official documents signed only months ago by all five kage and daimyo. Unfortunately, not everyone living under the law wished to comply, even though many had worked together in the war.

"A week ago, I was sent on a recon mission with a team. The Hokage had received some threatening letters and asked us to investigate some of the villages under suspicion - there have been some recent riots, as you know. Two days ago, en route to the hidden village, I stopped briefly at a border village and… Well, let's just say my reception there wasn't entirely friendly." Shikamaru said. "I was told to leave before sundown and that they wouldn't be giving out any supplies to people from outside of the Wind Country. Not long after I left, I saw the storm approaching and made it through the tail end of it and had to take the other route here - as the Leaf route is blocked off now. It ought to be here before the day's out, if I'm correct.

This thing's jutsu-based, it seems, and they obviously mean to use it against the Sand Village and possibly even the Leaf, likely using it to besiege and then launch their attack."

Temari sighed, slumping in her chair. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this. I mean, I understand their motive, but an attack such as this won't achieve much in the long run. We need this alliance."

"Yeah." Shikamaru agreed, then leaned back on his pillows, stifling a yawn. Then closed his eyes.

Temari eyed him, "What are you doing?" She stood and grabbed him by the arm, "We've got to go talk to Gaara about this and we need to figure out a plan! Now's not the time to be napping."

She dragged him out of bed and off to the offices, ignoring his protests of "Dammit, woman!"

After explaining the situation, Shikamaru exhaustedly resting in a chair - it seemed he hadn't quite recovered yet, Gaara gathered the rest of the council members for discussion.

"I don't know that I'd be able to do much against this, even in spite of what power I have." Gaara said. "This could be multiple jutsu users, from what you've deduced, and if that's the case, they would very likely be able to keep us besieged for, at most, a week.

Somehow, we need to find a way past the barrier of the storm and draw any fighting away from the village. We need to act quickly.

Kankuro, Baki, Akane, Takumi, Kurou: I'll need you to gather together several squads."

"Understood." Kankuro and Baki and the other assigned replied seriously.

"And Temari," Gaara turned to her, "You and Shikamaru Nara will be assigned to the first squad with Kankuro. I'm also assigning you to organize a crew to find a way out through the barrier, if possible."

"Alright." Temari said.

"Y-yes." Shikamaru stood and nodded.

"We'll send message by bird to the Leaf for possible backup - we may need it." Gaara said. "We'll adjourn this meeting for now and do what we can. Report back tomorrow afternoon."

"Understood." They all said in unison, and made their way from the room.

As they made their way down the hall, Shikamaru rubbed at his eyes. "That was tiresome."

Temari rolled her eyes. "Well, come tomorrow morning, we'll have to start finding a few leads on breaking the barrier. So you'd better not start slacking off."

"Relax." Shikamaru glanced at her, eyes serious, "I have a few ideas already."

Of course he did. As always. Temari felt slightly foolish for doubting him at all. Of course he would help. Even if he was a lazy ass.

"You're welcome to stay on the couch again. I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of good food right now, though." She said to him after a moment.

"Sure." He said expressionlessly. Then met her sharp gaze and added a "Thank you." shortly after.


	3. Chapter 3

_I wanted to write this chapter much sooner, but I've been a bit indisposed lately and totally unable to focus. Not sure I'm entirely happy with how I wrote this, but I might do some editing in the future. Sorry for typos and general loopy wording - I'm still not feeling too up to par._

_Again, comments are welcome and thanks for reading!_

* * *

Her apartment was small and simply furnished, but comfortable enough.

As they kicked their sandals off at the entrance, Temari noticed just how tired Shikamaru appeared to be and felt slightly guilty for having dragged him to the meeting.

She directed him toward the couch and hurried off to rummage through a cupboard. "That sunburn does look pretty bad." She said as she finally found what she was searching for. "I have some more ointment here. You should use it, or you'll have a fever and your skin will peel."

He reached for the small jar in her hands, but Temari stopped him huffily, batting his hands out of the way, "Tch. I'll do it. Here." She opened the jar.

"Fine." Shikamaru muttered, sitting back and squeezing his eyes shut as she sat next to him.

As she ran a thumb over his cheek, Temari felt herself blushing and found herself staring at his dark eyebrows and eyelashes, the slight freckles across his cheekbones… Realizing this, she hastily applied the rest of the ointment somewhat haphazardly in embarrassment.

"Hey." He grumbled, opening his eyes to glare at her. "No need to be so rough about it!"

She glared back, "You could at least be a little grateful for it!" She set aside the ointment. "Anyway. I'm done now."

"I…" He broke from her gaze, "It does feel a little better. Thanks." He murmured.

An awkward silence settled between them, until Temari finally broke the tension and moved forward to kiss him. His lips met hers as he leaned into her to return it.

After a moment, they parted, though they remained close.

"It's been a while." Temari said a bit breathlessly.

"I suppose so." Shikamaru replied and he was kissing her once more.

Temari smiled, pushing him down to the couch cushions along with her, feeling his arms slip around her waist.

She moved her hands, sliding beneath his unzipped flak jacket and he quickly shrugged it off, tossing it aside, and found her lips again, kissing her harder than before. Before she knew it, they had switched places and he was above her, mouth now trailing along her neck and ear, the two of them breathing heavily.

Had things been like this recently? Temari had always either been too elated (or drunk) to care. In the past, she remembered just how shy and awkward he'd been, kissing her, yet now…

Parting her legs to make room for him, she pulled him atop her, simply reveling in the feeling of him being there. His weight and the warmth of his kisses… It really had been a while.

She sighed in false annoyance as he nibbled at her ear, "Honestly, you're going to leave marks."

He raised his head to smirk at her slightly, and she began kissing him again, this time, their tongues meeting, hot and fast. Temari ran her hands up his back, beneath his shirt, and he tentatively let his own hands drift up to her clothed breasts, briefly. She surprised herself when she let out a soft whimper of pleasure.

They'd come this far plenty of times, but they'd never gotten around to… well, the actual act of things. Their schedules had always been too busy, or they just hadn't felt up to it… They'd made numerous excuses. Maybe it was a mutual notion of not wanting to become too attached to one another.

Of course, nothing said that two people couldn't have sex, free of attachment. Whatever the case, it wasn't as if Temari hadn't wanted to go through with it.

Right?

Breaking from their kiss, and breaking her line of thought, she glanced up at him, grinning, "Well, Mr. Enthusiasm, what's gotten into you, today?" The grin faded from her face when she noticed the way Shikamaru was looking at her - a strange sort of desperation in his eyes.

"Six months." He said quietly.

"What…" She began, but trailed off, feeling an odd sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"It's been about six months since we last saw each other, you know." He explained.

"Damn." He sat up, re-tying his ponytail, which had become loose. "I'm so pathetic."

Temari sat up as well, straightening her clothing. She had an idea of where this might be going.

A gust of wind swept against the windows outside.

"I can't believe I'm saying this." Shikamaru pinched at the bridge of his nose, "But, ugh." He expelled a breath, "Temari, I think I love you."

"Damn it." Shikamaru said again, turning away from her.

"I'd completely made up my mind to hate you, all those years ago." He went on, "But… but don't you think, after seven years of going back and forth between villages, and you constantly proving me wrong, we should… possibly… try to find a little more stability together?"

Was he asking what she thought he was?

Temari was silent for a good several minutes.

Finally, she stood and left the room with a "Good night, Shikamaru." And curled up in her own bed, pulling the covers over her head.

The wind picked up, howling, as the sky darkened.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry about the long delay! Just haven't had a lot of creative motivation lately. I do hope to update sooner in the future, though! Haha, I'm always apologizing for my scatterbrained writing - this chapter's a little more introspective, but things will start moving more quickly as the story progresses, I think!_

* * *

When Temari woke, her eyes felt dry and her head hurt - pulsing with an uncomfortable warmth.

She remained beneath her covers, stubbornly refusing to move, even in spite of the fact that she had business to be getting to very soon. Her stomach growled and she added eating a meal to the list of things to be getting to soon. She did regret skipping dinner the night before.

Sighing, she buried her face in her pillow, finding herself wishing that she could bar out the memory of the events of the previous night. Couldn't they just go on like nothing had happened? No… no they couldn't. What did he mean by 'more stability'? (She had asked herself this over and over throughout the early morning hours.) He would have suggested something more specific if he'd intended to, right? Or was he feeling too awkward to really express his feelings or… No. She recalled something he'd told her, years ago. If Shikamaru set out to truly accomplish a task, he would get the job done. He would not have been so vague unless he intended the suggestion to be so. At least, that's what she hoped. But did she really want them to be together under such abstract terms? Or even at all? She wasn't sure what to think anymore.

Just as she had made up her mind to drag herself out of bed, a faint pounding sounded from her front door in the next room and she ran to answer it, brushing past Shikamaru who was poised to open it himself.

Kankuro stood in the hall, a brow raised beneath his lines of Kabuki paint. He looked slightly surprised to see Shikamaru standing behind Temari, but he grinned and winked at them, turning to leave. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything! I'll come back later if you'd like."

"No!" Temari said. A bit more loudly than she'd intended to. Shikamaru coughed. "Er, no."

"No, you're not interrupting." Temari insisted, rather bemused at the idea of her brother even bothering to be conscientious at all. "And why are you here?"

"Storm came in this morning." Kankuro jabbed a thumb in the general direction of 'outside'. "The canyon walls are surrounded now and no one can get out through the gates. If you ask me," Kankuro added, "the founders of our village should have done a better job of constructing this place. Yeah, it's a great fortification for battles, but it can also just as easily be turned into a death-trap."

Something stirred in the back of Temari's mind at those words, but she was too tired to really grasp a hold of them.

"Anyway!" Kankuro shrugged, seeming oddly optimistic. "This morning a sensory ninja located six chakra points around the barrier. If we could make it through and take out at least two of them, there's a chance the barrier will dissipate. The inner village itself is pretty much alright for now, though - it's like we're in the eye of the storm."

It wasn't quite as bad as being trapped in the storm itself, but it was still unpleasant, as Temari soon found out.

After Temari and Shikamaru had quickly, and wordlessly, readied themselves, they followed Kankuro out into the darkened streets, squinting to shield their eyes from the sand. Even the sky had been blocked out. Luckily, Temari and Kankuro had scarves to block much of it from their faces. (Shikamaru wasn't quite as fortunate.)

Under other circumstances, Temari might have loaned him a scarf, or let him use her own, perhaps, but…

"Oh, damn it all." Temari grumbled, resolve crumbling. She removed the swath of fabric and tossed it back into the insufferable man's cringing face. "Take this, Nara. You look pathetic."

He took it with a grateful expression, tying it close around his mouth.

She half wished she hadn't done such a thing, but it was too late to change her actions now. (Additionally, she just didn't have the time to be worrying over her fuzzy and undefined relationship with him at that moment, but guilt simmered in the pit of her stomach.)

Besides... she was accustomed to sandstorms. A memory surfaced of an angry, four-year-old Gaara, surrounded by several ninjas attempting to subdue him. She and Kankuro had hidden behind a nearby building, but the air still hurt to breathe and the whipping grains stung her eyes to tears - she still wasn't certain as to whether those tears had been her own or due to the sand. She firmly pushed the recollection away - she found it best not to dwell on those times too much.

The trio finally met up with Maki, a jounin whom Temari had frequently recruited for patrol squads. According to Kankuro, she'd agreed to join the research task force just that morning and Temari felt glad for the company. (And additional assistance, too, of course.) Kankuro went off on his own way and the remaining party hurried off to the archives.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you very much for the comments and adds! I appreciate them a lot! Sorry I haven't updated this recently, the writing mood doesn't strike me super often. I hope this chapter isn't too lengthy, messy or boring. D: And sorry for the lack of interesting action. I'm hoping to post more soon, though!_

* * *

The archives were dusty - full of neatly-bound books and buzzing electric lights.

For all that Temari enjoyed studying strategy, she much preferred the actual utilization of it on the battlefield, the metal of her fan humming with vibration beneath her fingers while the dust settled. She sighed, focusing, and returned to her work.

There was an entire section dedicated to battle tactics, alone, so she was quite perturbed to find Shikamaru standing nearby, reaching for the same book that she was.

Quickly snatching her hand back, Temari mumbled, "Just take it." to him and strode off. She also noted the almost-inconspicuous glance Maki shot at them from the other side of the shelves.

Of all times, Shikamaru had had to ask her about a serious relationship while the _Sand Village was in the middle of a crisis_. She nearly felt like going back and punching him, but decided against it - it would only raise more curiosity. _Damn him!_

It wasn't just the pressure of the current situation, though. She honestly had no idea how to respond to him and she hated how that one tiny question had made things so awkward between them.

Not only that, but she had obligations to her village, to her family. They needed her. She wasn't about to uproot everything, give up her positions or shift her loyalty to the _Leaf_.

She and her brothers had poured their sweat, blood and tears into their village. They had worked so hard - and they still were working hard. She could never abandon that. That was asking the impossible.

After the Sand and Sounds' invasion of the Leaf, during the Chuunin Exams seven years ago, she, Kankuro, and an unnervingly quiet Gaara had returned to find the Sand Village in chaos and learned that their father had been killed. At the time, she had only felt relief - and not much guilt at that. The former Kazekage had never really been a father to any of them. She had been nothing more than a playing piece on a Go board, to him.

Gaara had shut himself away for a week, until she and Kankuro, quite possibly risking their lives, slowly drew him out, day by day, making sure he at least ate something and was taken care of.

The village elders were utterly unconcerned, wiping their hands of the matter, and the job of governing the village had fallen to the (already unstable) council.

Almost every trace of their father was wiped from the Sand. His ordinances, regulations were dissolved. His war against the Leaf crumbled. His circles and underground followers, eradicated; some assassinated, most jailed.

Many people were still afraid of Gaara, though, and unsure of what 'to do' with him. The weapon. Still, they were pushed out of their home and forced to find (considerably more meager) lodgings.

The Land of Rivers and Stone were threatening their borders and the council grew even more frantic, each wanting the title of Kazekage for themselves. It only resulted in more assassinations.

Finally, Gaara finally started speaking to Temari and Kankuro directly. He apologized so many times they lost count and seemed to be bewildered as to why they would even bother with him. But it was a start. And, while Gaara was still a host to the shukaku, he'd changed. He began changing so much. She could see how much he was struggling for hope and acceptance. And Temari found herself hating her father more and more than she had before.

Gaara asked for their help. He was going to attain the title of chuunin - which the council certainly wouldn't refuse to _him_ - and work up through the ranks. And they would, too.

The three of them had spent many an hour in these same archives, researching administration and policies, civics, economics… And felt glad that they'd already known something of it, even in spite of their father's former, bitter presence in their lives.

In time, and with their help, Gaara began to gain support. He was intelligent and exacting, and a formidable force, though also caring and empathetic. (However, others who knew him less assumed otherwise.) But he was readily gaining respect for his hard work and his genuine words. Ready to repair the damage his predecessor had caused. The siblings had gained the rank of jounin and made their way into the council, and then appealed to them with a petition of one thousand who supported Gaara.

Reluctantly, and with much pushing the council, he gained the title of Fifth Kazekage.

Multiple times, he had made it clear that he hadn't gotten to the position alone, and it wasn't because of his lineage. Temari, Kankuro, Baki, Matsuri, Maki, Chiyo, Ebizo and so many others had been there and taught him and supported him and they deserved just as much credit. After he had practically lost his life in protecting the village from the Akatsuki, he gained even more widespread trust. For once, in the Sand's long, harsh history of tyranny, a Kage of the people now governed the village. Out of the shadow of the Fourth.

After Chiyo's death, Kankuro had accepted the position of the village's head puppeteer.

Temari had applied for the position of liaison immediately after Gaara had been instated. (She'd already been working as an examiner for a while.) The Sand had always been seen as a threat to all surrounding countries - and even more so when they invaded the Leaf. Easing tensions and establishing communication and trade would take a while, and still were, but she felt confident in her work. She wasn't any weakling and, if communications failed, she could easily take care of herself.

Lady Tsunade had quickly accepted an alliance, in spite of the Leaf elders' protests, and, while other villages had been less open to such an idea, Temari still felt that to be one of her life's greater successes.

To think that three small, frightened children could have come so far.

Temari was not going to leave any of that behind. And to think she would amounted to an outright insult.

Somewhat out of the blue, she recalled something her uncle, Yashamaru, had said - to dedicate your life to your village and never abandon it.

Temari snapped out of her reverie, another thought sparking in her mind. Swiftly, she made her way to the cartography shelves, pulling out several books on local geography.

She had found something that might just save the village.


	6. Chapter 6

_I'm sorry this is a bit on the sloppy side! My attention span is practically non-existent sometimes! I just wanted to get this chapter written and over with. (Slightly longer one this time. I'm never sure how long I should make these chapters - so most of them are a bit short!)_

_Alluded a bit to Maki's backstory here - it was nice to see more on her, even if it was filler!_

_Again, faves and reviews are welcome and much appreciated! Thank you for reading!_

* * *

She found Shikamaru surrounded by stacks of books, deeply immersed in a history of the Sand's last decade, his brows furrowed in concentration.

"Listen up!" Temari called out and he jumped, startled, along with Maki across the room. "I think I might have a plan." She thumped the large atlas she was carrying upon a table, pages open.

The ninja working at the front desk of the archives frowned at her for the disruptive noise, but appeared to think better of it after a moment when it seemed he realized just who it was he was frowning at.

Shikamaru stood and Maki followed suit, the two of them joining Temari at the table. "That went much more quickly than expected." Maki said with some relief.

"I knew you could do it - you know this place far better than I do." Shikamaru added.

Temari wondered, vaguely, if he'd been reading her thoughts. Her home would always be the Sand. He had to be aware of that, right?

She wished she could find some time to pull him aside and question him, but there were currently bigger things at stake.

"Here." Temari pointed a finger at a box upon the map of the southern area of the village.

"Old tunnels?" Maki asked. "I think I recall hearing about them from Pakura."

"Yes." Temari nodded. "I remembered my uncle telling me about them, years ago, too. I think they might have been closed off during the Third Shinobi War out of fear of intruders."

"So they lead outside of the village." Shikamaru said - pointing at a similar block near the east entrance.

* * *

They ran through the dusty streets to the south district, her heart pounding, wind whipping at their clothing as they jumped from rust-hued domes of rooftops and along walls.

"I'm no strategist." Temari muttered to Shikamaru when he was within earshot. "I just happen to have a sharp memory. I'm surprised you weren't the one to figure it out."

He glanced over to her and, somehow, the familiar scowl he wore felt reassuring to her. It was better than his recent, blank silence.

"Tch. Strategy is just assessing all of the possibilities you have in front of you. If I'd spent a longer time studying the geography of this place, I would have deduced there _might've _been caves, based on the plateau formations of this area. But I still wouldn't have known about the fact that the tunnels are a passage unless I thought to look at those maps. What I meant to say is that you're in your element, here, so it stands to reason you'd have a better strategy than I would, and… this conversation is a waste of energy." He grumbled off.

Chancing a look behind her at the view of the village, the sand in the air prickling at her face, she almost felt like smirking at his remark, but she sighed instead. The situation between them was still weighing heavily on her mind. "I guess you're right. It's my home, after all."

Temari wasn't sure about broaching the subject, but she had to ask. It was clear he did know how important the Sand was to her. With that suggestion he'd proposed the night before… (it rather dully hit her that it had been a _proposal_ of sorts) did it mean he was intending to leave the Leaf, then? As confused and conflicted as Temari felt, she most certainly didn't want Shikamaru to do something like that.

"Do you-" Temari began.

"We're here!" Maki called out from ahead of them and they rushed to a halt.

They stood in the shadows of the high rock wall of the Sand Village, the storm raging above. Near the base of one of the cliffs was a blocked-off entranceway, marked with lines of sealing symbols.

As they moved closer to it, Maki ran a hand over the stone, inspecting it. "It's a good seal - it'd have to be. There's no easy way to get through it. If I attempted to unseal it by myself right now, the tunnels would probably collapse."

"Is it still possible to get through it, though?" Temari asked, still feeling slightly impatient and disgruntled at having her conversation abruptly ended.

"I think so." Maki said, frowning. "I'd have to put a team together. I'm not sure how long it would take us - hopefully a day or so."

"Then let's get to it!" Temari said determinedly, "Could you organize a team within the hour, Maki?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Maki said.

"Good!" Temari put on a grin, in spite of her feelings to the contrary. "I'll report this immediately. Shikamaru?"

"Hm?" He blinked. "Um. Yes?"

"You're dismissed for now. Get something to eat and rest up a bit more - you look like you need it." Temari had begun to realize that Shikamaru's silence stemmed not just from what was going on between them, but because he'd just been in the infirmary the day before and the lack of sleep was probably greatly affecting him. She wasn't usually so soft on people. Still, though, he was waiting on her reply. And she had no answer yet.

"Meet back up with me later at the offices and we'll discuss plans." She said.

"Understood." He nodded and took his leave. (And Temari was certain she heard him muttering something about "Too damned pushy." under his breath as he did so.)

At least he was acting somewhat more normally, now - though she would have to think up a way to repay him for that comment. She watched him retreating for a moment before she and Maki made their own way back to the center of the village.

"It might not be my place to say anything, but..." Maki spoke up as they arrived at the offices, "I hope things work out alright between you two."

"What?" Temari stiffened.

"I'm off!" Maki dashed off, "I'll have my team on the job directly!"

Temari found herself standing alone in front of the building, blushing to the roots of her hair. Had they really been so obvious? Well, most people were already aware of something going on between herself and Shikamaru, but, with the current situation…

With embarrassment, she all but stomped through the halls, wishing she had her fan at hand rather than having left it back at her apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted! Not sure if this is a little OOC, but, blah. Just glad to have it written out, now. For all their banter and pricklyness, the Sibs do seem to have some heartfelt chats every now and then._

_I'll try to have the next chapter up sooner! :)_

_Thanks for reading and thank you very much for the reviews!_

* * *

Dim sunlight squeezed its way in through the windows, leaving faint spots of light on the tiled floor of the office.

"And Maki is currently gathering a team for the task." Temari finished explaining the situation to Gaara. "Now, all we have to do is wait, and, presumably, organize some squads to go through the tunnels in the morning."

"Yes." Gaara affirmed, "We'll just need the approval of the council tonight." (Kankuro, sitting near a window, sighed audibly at this.) (Temari hid a smirk.)

"There will be a briefing tomorrow morning and messengers are already spreading the word." Gaara went on, "So, do be prepared. And be sure to let Shikamaru know."

Temari nodded, turning to leave, the reminder that he was probably waiting back at her apartment suddenly setting her nerves ablaze.

"And… If you'd wait a moment, Temari. There's another… matter to talk about." Gaara added. Kankuro straightened from his slouch in the chair.

Gaara never stumbled around his words or blurted things out, but when he had difficulty speaking about things, his sentences slowed down considerably, as though he were carefully considering the correct wording to use in his head.

"Maybe we shouldn't ask." Kankuro spoke up. "But things have seemed… sort of… weird between you and Shikamaru." He frowned at her, "And you can't keep denying that there's something between you, because there totally is and everyone knows it."

"Essentially." Gaara concurred, bright green eyes moving back to her. "Are you alright?"

Temari felt a slight warmth in her chest at knowing that her brothers had been worried about her. She'd considered reverting to her old tactics of brushing things off and pretending like nothing had occurred, but, this time…

She sighed.

"Things have been weird, I suppose you could say. He… told me he wants a more serious relationship." She said simply.

Her brothers remained silent for a moment, before Kankuro laughed. "Wow. Bad timing. Really bad timing."

"I _know_!" Temari threw her hands up in exasperation, "Who the fuck asks something like that in the middle of a village crisis?!"

"Not the wisest thing to do." Gaara agreed, smiling slightly.

She felt the tension draining from her for the first time in many hours. And then realized she was laughing. "This is so stupid."

And then Kankuro was laughing and even Gaara hid a suspicious cough behind his hand.

Their mirth died down after a short while, Temari tiredly settling into another chair.

"I think, though," Gaara said, "That he must love you a lot."

Shifting her sandals on the tiled floor, Temari grew serious. "Yes... That's the problem." She explained. "You know I wouldn't leave the Sand. I couldn't leave it. We've built our lives here. And Shikamaru knows this. Which led me to a conclusion I didn't want to consider, either. I wouldn't want him to give up his life in the Leaf for my sake."

Temari rested her cheek on her palm, "I mean, having a brilliant and experienced ninja like him on the council would certainly strengthen the Sand, but it's a selfish thought - and I couldn't do that to him. He has family and friends in the Leaf whom he cares about a lot. And prospective students and duties and, even in spite of how lazy he seems, he contributes so much to the shinobi around him there. He's… a very good man. And a better person than I am."

Clenching her palm into a fist, she continued, "And I don't know whether to be angry at him or… or… I just don't know what to do. Maybe I shouldn't do anything."

"Are you thinking of breaking ties with him, then?" Gaara asked.

"I don't know." Temari said quietly.

"But is that something you want to do?" Gaara specified with concern.

"It isn't something I want to do." Saying it aloud further confirmed it in Temari's mind. In all honesty, she did still want to be close to Shikamaru. In whatever messy, difficult way it might be. She truly did.

"Then why don't you just talk to him about it?" Kankuro suggested.

"Because. It's difficult." Temari said apprehensively, "It's ridiculous enough that I'm talking to you two about it! I'm not into a lot of that lovey-dovey… behavior. I mean. I don't even know how to approach him about it and I'll just make a nervous fool of myself and I don't like letting my guard down that… much…"

"You ought to talk to him." Gaara reiterated Kankuro's words.

"Unless you want to be stuck in this situation forever." Kankuro said half-teasingly.

"I'll have to take some kind of action. I know." She said. She'd already been aware - but she'd hoped it might be easier. "And, with some luck, it might not turn out to be totally disastrous." She muttered under her breath, wondering at how her younger brothers had become better at expressing and understanding emotions than she

She found, though, that having some encouragement did help.

"Temari." Gaara spoke hesitantly again, "You do know that… whatever choices or decisions you make, if you ever do choose to leave the Sand, we wouldn't hold it against you or be upset with you."

"I know." Temari stood and felt her mouth tilt up in a smile, "Thank you, Gaara and Kankuro. For the talk."

Had she been a somewhat more affectionate person, she might have hugged them, but, instead, settled for walking over and ruffling the hair on each of their heads.

"Just don't go thinking that you've gotten wiser than your older sister, now." She said, seemingly nonchalant, as she left the room.

* * *

As prepared as Temari felt, now, walking through the windy and dusty afternoon streets, thinking over topics to discuss, she hadn't quite expected to return to an empty apartment, no Shikamaru in sight.


	8. Chapter 8

_Two new chapters! Hope they don't seem too rushed. This is my first time writing an actual, multi-chaptered fic and I'm still learning. ^^;_

_(Might make this story an extra chapter or two longer, btw.)_

_Anyway! Hope you enjoy! And thanks very much for the faves and reviews!_

* * *

The wind whisked her bangs into her eyes and tugged at her skirt as Temari made her way back out to the street. The weather didn't bother her much - she was a wind user after all. It was the welling feelings of distress she was having difficulty pushing down.

Her first intention was to check each place he might possibly be. The archives, training grounds, offices… It wasn't as if he could leave the village.

It only occurred to her, then, that she had suggested he take a break. And she felt an overwhelming foolishness at her uneasiness.

* * *

The bar was a smaller and lesser known establishment, nestled between old apartment complexes. (Temari recalled a time she and Kankuro had unsuccessfully attempted to get Gaara drunk there.) It was a perfect place for small groups, or people wishing to be alone with their own thoughts rather than listen in on the latest comings and goings in busier parts of town. And the most likely place he'd be. (She would be surprised if he _hadn't _become well-acquainted with the Sand Village by now. He'd visited it enough.)

It was near empty, due to the storm, but, accurate to her prediction, he sat at the far end of the bar, thoughtfully stirring at a plate of yakisoba with his chopsticks.

"You…" She began heatedly once she'd reached him, "The amount of trouble you cause me!"

"Oh." He smiled that irritating, lazy smile of his. "So you do worry about me."

"I thought you might have left the apartment to… uh… stay elsewhere." She replied, sitting at the stool adjacent to him, not bothering to respond to his comment.

Shikamaru shrugged. "It's not like I really have any reason to leave, I guess. And it's not like I can go far in this storm, anyway. Unless you'd want me to."

"No." Temari answered, "You're welcome to freeload there as much as you like." Her mood was improving. Just a little. "But, you do owe me one thing."

He grimaced a bit, "I guess I do, if I know where this is going."

"We need to talk about this." Temari said. "Yesterday, you asked me about our… relationship, and I'd like to know if it's something you're really serious about."

"It's not necessary to repeat it." He grumbled and she was convinced his face had reddened slightly. "But, yeah, that was my intent and I suppose I'll stick by it."

"And you also know that I'm loyal to the Sand." She went on.

"Always have been aware." He said with some light sarcasm in his tone. She supposed she _had_ always made it rather clear.

"How, then, are we ever going to fucking work something out?" She asked him with frustration. "You're very loyal to your own village as well. You have commitments and responsibilities there. People who rely on your skills. Friends and family. You know," She said, voice quieting, "I do worry about you. And, even in spite of your, well," She paused to wave a hand. "lack of strength in some areas. I think you are one of the best ninja the Leaf has."

At that, his eyebrows rose a bit and he redirected his attention to his noodles. "Uh. Thank you." It wasn't often she so blatantly or freely gave praise.

"And… I think it would be a shame if you were to leave." She finished.

"I've considered at least forty different situations." Shikamaru said, "And the majority of them, nearly all, would probably never work in the long run."

"Then what are we even doing?" Temari asked.

"Well…" Shikamaru scratched at the back of his neck, "Honestly, I think life would be a lot duller if you weren't around."

"And I think I'd worry about you a lot more if I you weren't around for me to look out for." Temari agreed, attempting to ignore the fluttery feelings within her that had started up again.

Shikamaru snorted slightly at her comment, but the light in his eyes expressed genuine gratitude.

They were both silent for a short while. Temari felt glad that neither of them were given much to sappy excess in their conversations.

"But…" Shikamaru spoke up, "I still think I'd like to give something a try. Maybe. I don't think you should leave the Sand and I don't think I should leave the Leaf. My mom would kill me if I did, anyway." He muttered under his breath. "I do have a lot of obligations in my village. I mean, I'll be taking on a genin team in several years, too."

"You'd need a jounin rank for that." Temari said pointedly, eyeing him.

"True." Shikamaru nodded.

"So you are going to appeal to become a jounin, then?" Temari asked, surprised, digressing somewhat from the topic at hand. She paused a moment, taking in his expression. "Wait… You've…" She almost jumped from her chair as it dawned on her, "You've just made jounin, haven't you?"

"I have." He confirmed and she punched him in the arm.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? You… you lazy jerk!" She fumed. (Although she was, truthfully, quite pleased.)

"Ugh." Shikamaru rubbed at his upper arm, wincing, "Because you would've reacted like _that_, regardless of whether I'd told you sooner or later." He muttered.

Temari might have kissed him, but her nerves were still too on-edge and she settled for ordering vegetable skewers and drinks instead.

The atmosphere of the room, to her, began to feel considerably warmer and hushed. Five other customers sat in far corners, conversing quietly, apparently aware only of their own company. The bartender sat at the counter near the entrance, engrossed in one of those terrible Jiraiya romance novels.

"It took you long enough." She mumbled around a mouthful of tomato.

"Seriously." He sighed, "I would've been fine being a genin or chuunin for the rest of my life, but I have duties. I'll be continuing as an examiner, too. At least for the next few years or so." Shikamaru sipped at his drink. "I'm sorry… for not telling you sooner. I tried yesterday, but, uh, I guess I really timed it badly."

"You did. Gaara and Kankuro thought so, too." Temari finished with her first skewer.

"What? You told your brothers about it?" Shikamaru blanched.

"Oh, relax. They would've found out eventually." Temari snorted. "I suppose there are no future second chances at asking any better way. What's done is done. And," Her face felt hot, "I think I'd be fine with trying for some kind of… compromise, now that we've discussed things more."

Shikamaru choked on his sake, then downed it quickly. "I've, um, also been considered for liaison work to the Sand. Which is a jounin position. And it means I'd be visiting much more often."

"You could have told me that, too." Temari said quietly.

"That was also something I intended to do yesterday." He said awkwardly. "I wanted your opinion. I wasn't sure that you'd even want to go ahead with anything at all. So I'd planned on asking you first, under your terms, about… moving forward. And then suggesting that I could take on working as an ambassador as one of the solutions. I mean, you visit the Leaf as ambassador almost every autumn, now, and, if I were to spend a season here, it might… close the gap in months."

"We're ridiculous, aren't we?" Temari sighed, more a statement than a question. "Always putting duty first." She'd had some sake, now, and she soon closed the space between them, kissing him lightly on the lips.

And, after more drinks, he kissed her back and they both came to the conclusion, quite rationally, that they should take such behavior to a place considerably less public.

* * *

In a short while, they'd returned to her apartment just as the sun was setting, stumbling to her darkened room.

Shikamaru lingered in the doorway as Temari tugged at the knots of her obi, hastily untying it, and slipped out of her shirt and skirt, leaving only her sarashi and bottoms.

As Shikamaru watched, his eyes grew wide. "Er. Just what are you d-doing?" He stammered, words jumbling together at an unnaturally quicker pace than his usual drawl.

"Something I've been wanting to do for a while." Temari replied.

Temari moved closer to him, her lips brushing his. As they parted, she met his stare seriously.

"Please?" She asked quietly.

She tugged at the bottom of his shirt and he quickly removed it, along with his flak jacket, and he tossed them aside to the floor.

"Are you sur-" Shikamaru began, still cautious, but Temari cut him off with another kiss. That seemed to be enough of an answer for him, because he eagerly returned her kiss and they toppled dizzily onto her mattress, lips moving against lips, their tongues meeting sloppily.

He tasted of umeshu and sake and she giggled against his mouth. "You are such a lightweight."

"Shut up." He muttered.

Temari smiled, curtailing any further protests with more kissing.


	9. Chapter 9

_This chapter was fun to write. ;) (NSFW - Rated M.) Edited and corrected a few mistakes._

* * *

It wasn't long before all of their clothing had been tossed aside in a jumbled pile.

She shivered, feeling the bare skin of her thighs upon his torso as she straddled him, drawing her lips across his collarbone and neck, remaining there to nibble up to his ear, silver studs, as always, in place.

He shifted beneath her, "Honestly, you're going to leave marks." He sighed, echoing her old complaints.

Temari grinned widely, "My exact objective."

"So troublesome." He said with some fondness. His eyes glinting at her in the warm darkness.

"Shikamaru." She whispered next to his ear, feeling suddenly, strangely shy. "I love you, too." She'd never really said it directly to him before, Temari realized. (Aside from a few times in jest, maybe.) But it was true. She loved him. In all of his deliberate, and often obnoxious, sluggishness and his no-nonsense quips and his quiet words. And in the ways he always let her win their battles and in his honest and sometimes strange innocence.

Arms settled around her, pulling her closer and she found herself in a tight embrace. And she relaxed into it, resting her head upon his chest.

Running a finger over his right bicep, Temari smiled. "Were you always this skinny?"

Shikamaru snorted, arms loosening, "Are you trying to ruin the moment?"

"Not at all." Temari, still wearing her smile, sat up to kiss him, lingering at his lips as he returned it, the two leisurely savoring each time their mouths and tongues met, each time growing more and more heated, pushing. She briefly bit at his lip.

His bare chest pressed against hers, an ache growing in her breasts until his hands swept down from where they'd been at her face, carefully brushing at them until she had to break from their kiss to gasp against his neck. Shikamaru continued, growing bolder, fingers moving as though he were solving a puzzle, answered by her increased gasps of pleasure. He smirked.

Deciding to return the favor, Temari pushed Shikamaru's arms to his sides, squeezing at his torso tightly with her thighs, running small kisses slowly down his chest and stomach, stopping just short of his navel. Her mouth curved up in a smile as he, similarly, struggled to regain his breath.

In truth, her own actions were surprising her. Temari hadn't really expected things to be escalating in such a… satisfying way. Sex wasn't something she'd had experience with - but she had a good knowledge of it, (aside from the standard lessons taught to new genin.) Having (merely out of curiosity) read plenty into it and having grown up listening in on the hushed stories of many other ninja. She suspected Shikamaru was much the same, given his cautious analysis of her. But he caught on quickly to her reactions and she was very much enjoying keeping up.

Very much.

She felt his hands at her waist, then, fingers nudging at her spine, across her abdomen… She found his eyes searching hers for some form of affirmation and she nodded quickly, stifling a moan through her sealed lips when his fingers found the apex of her thighs, smoothing over her sensitive skin, fingers at her wet entrance, and, soon, within. This time, she didn't bother with stifling another.

Through the sensations of pleasure, she found his own erect arousal, her hand working at it until he had to pause at his own ministrations of her, breathing hard. "Temari…" He exhaled sharply.

Temari moved forward, then, her hands clasping his own, now on each side of him, as she settled herself down onto him, another gasp escaping her throat as he suddenly pushed into her, filling her. It felt uncomfortable at first, but, once she had eased herself back down to his chest, meeting his hot kisses as she did, they settled into a steady, slick and easy rhythm. The heat grew within her, throbbing at her core, and they increased their speed. By now, they were both emitting soft noises of pleasure, panting with each movement. Matching pace for pace.

Their skin felt sticky, her legs pressing against his, each thrust driving her closer until she came, overwhelmed by each sensation, and he followed, holding her close as they sank from their climax in a daze, limbs now slack and entangled, gulping breaths of cooling air.

Gingerly, she settled next to him, pecking at his forehead and then his nose, running her fingers through his loose hair. He rested a hand at her cheek, meeting her eyes. "Temari… that was… something." He breathed, "You… wow."

"At a loss for words, I see." Temari laughed, twirling a finger into a strand of his black hair. She nudged closer and he bumped his forehead against hers, settling there.

"Why didn't we do this sooner?" She asked, pressing her nose against his.

Shikamaru kissed her lightly. "We really should've." He kissed her again. "You know, I really do love you. I… think you're pretty amazing." This time he kissed her deeply.

Temari blushed, drawing back after a moment. "I… You, too." She smacked his shoulder as he laughed, "I love you, I mean. And you're kind of amazing yourself."

The emotions within her stirred. She'd really never quite said anything to anyone in such a way. But it felt warm. And simple and beautiful. And she felt ridiculously, blissfully happy. She relaxed, letting her eyes close, listening to the even breathing of Shikamaru and herself. After a moment, she felt his wet cheek meet her own and she blinked, willing herself to not react.

"Oh. Don't…" Her own eyes were growing moist, "Don't go crying on me, now, Shikamaru. Or I'll start, too." She finished softly.

"I love you." He said again. "I love you, too." She answered, circling an arm about him.

And, soon, quietly, exhaustedly, they drifted into calm slumber.

* * *

The next morning she woke with her hair in a tangle, her heart lurching into a racing pace as she became aware of Shikamaru sleeping directly next to her.

After a moment of calming herself, she recalled the events of the night before and she sheepishly felt like slinking away under her covers.

She also noted that she didn't have much of a hangover at all and, in fact, felt a growing contentedness.

Just after she'd quickly showered, pulled on her clothing and combed some semblance of tidiness into her thick hair, tying it back into her four tails, a knock sounded from her main room and she rushed to answer the door.

A report, delivered by a genin messenger, notifying her that Maki and her team were still continuing with their work at the seal. (Temari felt some guilt at that, wishing she could assist more in some way.)

When she returned to her room, she found Shikamaru still asleep. So she prodded at his shin with a foot. None too gently.

He groaned, squinting blearily at her, then pulled the covers over his head.

"Oh, come on." Temari prodded at him again, "Maki is still out there with her team. We need to be ready in case they manage to get through."

"Alright, alright. Fine." He grumbled. "Although, uh," he sat up, drawing the covers close. "If you don't mind, I need to find my pants and stuff."

"Really?" Temari said flatly, "After seeing everything last night?"

"Fine then." He huffed and then stood, grabbing for his boxers and pants.

"Although," Temari couldn't help but grin, "In this light your butt is a lot cuter."

He went red and rushed off to her bathroom, muttering to himself about troublesome things.

She brewed up a pot of tea as he took his time, but he soon joined her and they quietly sipped at it, sitting on the floor at her table.

"I wish there were some quicker way to get through this storm." Temari finally said, breaking the silence.

Shikamaru scratched at his chin and Temari noticed a small amount of stubble coming in there. She vaguely hoped he wouldn't look too much like his father had when he grew older. She decided against teasing him about it, though.

"I agree." Shikamaru said. "I think, once this is all over, it might be a good idea to talk with Gaara about building and establishing better evacuation routes, too."

"We'll make sure it's brought up in the council." Temari nodded.

"After this is all over, I'll have to head home right away, too." Shikamaru said, frowning slightly.

"I know." Temari said. She leaned over and squeezed his hand and he squeezed it in return. "But I also know that you'll be back."

"I will be." He said with a smile. "Thank you… For everything, Temari." They kissed, then lingered there, kissing lazily. She sank, back flat upon the tatami, and he followed, lips still upon hers. As much as she would have liked to progress from there, she recalled there were far more pressing matters to attend to.

Reluctantly and gently, she shifted from beneath him, glancing at the table. "Come on. We've got a busy day ahead."

Shikamaru sighed ruefully, but nodded.

As they washed and put away the teapot and cups, (Temari had to push him a bit to help) Shikamaru took stock of the small kitchen. He seemed to be musing over something.

"Most of your water comes from storage systems and reservoirs, right?" He asked, brows furrowing.

Temari wondered what he might be getting at, but she nodded. "Some water towers, but mostly a good number of tanks. All of that comes from our wells and irrigation systems."

"Where are they located?" He asked.

"By the cliffs… why?" Temari replied.

"There might just possibly be a quick way to get through this after all." Shikamaru said.


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry about the long delay!_

_I went back and revised a few things in some previous chapters, so they might make a bit more sense now/read better! (Although there probably still a few mistakes here and there.) (Might make some corrections to this chapter later, too.) Wasn't quite sure how I wanted to word the end of this, it sounds super cheesy, but I hope it's okay, haha._

_And, again, thank you for the faves and comments/reviews! They are much appreciated!_

* * *

Pulling on their flak jackets, Temari's fan a comfortable weight at her back, they left her apartment, making quick time to the Kazekage offices.

The temperature of the halls were cool, and intended to keep the heat out, but the activity within them was anything but - crowded with ninja, rushing about their tasks.

Pushing past the people, amid some indignant glares and grumblings, Temari and Shikamaru made it to the doors of Gaara's office.

As they entered, Kankuro greeted them, hands on hips, straight lines of kabuki paint and hood in place, his scrolls, carrying puppets, visible over his shoulder. "Took you long enough." He griped, "We're all prepping for the sealing team to finish any time, now."

Temari exchanged a glance with Shikamaru, "We've been busy with some research of our own."

"Oh, gross." Kankuro took a step back, his face twisted in mock disgust, "I do NOT want to know what you two have been up to in the past twelve hours."

Temari kicked him in the shin. Then went on to explain as Gaara joined them, adjusting the straps of his gourd.

"The wells in this village are part of an underground water system which, we are certain are a part of the same caves and tunnels that lead out of the village." Temari said.

Shikamaru held up a hastily-sketched diagram, "This dried out well should suffice adequately enough for the operation. But we'd probably only be able to get a small group through, for now" Temari gave Shikamaru an approving smile, in slight admiration of him taking initiative, and he blushed faintly.

Gaara had crossed his arms, considering thoughtfully. "I trust your judgment on this. And we should take advantage of it immediately." He turned to Kankuro, "From here, you take over operations of leading the main groups through with Baki once Maki and her team have completed their task. I'll join Temari, Shikamaru and Matsuri's squad in following this other route. We'll assess the situation outside and initiate combat and wait for your backup."

"That's… a little risky isn't it?" Kankuro shifted uncomfortably. "We're still not exactly sure how long it will take to break through the seal."

"Please." Temari gave him a withering expression, "We're fighting a smaller group of dissidents, not armies of undead Bloodline Limit users." She said pointedly. Memories of the war still lingered. They had faced extreme odds and survived, somehow. But they did carry scars from it.

"Don't worry, we'll be careful." Gaara said quietly. "And they'll accomplish it soon."

* * *

It wasn't long before the three, along with Matsuri and ten other ninja, had reached the darkened base of the well, clearing away stones and rubble until they made it through to an open expanse of caves, too pitch-black to make out much until they passed down lanterns. However, there really wasn't much to see, beyond wide tunnels and damp, trickling streams of water. (Which, she was sure, lead to the underground lake farther down.) They silently followed the sensor ninja at the head of the party - any whispered words echoed loudly from the walls. There were some convoluted twists and turns, but, eventually, they reached the man-made paths.

Temari was surprised at the complexity and extent of them. Finally, the ninja at the front waved them over to a tunnel. "Here." he said.

She felt air wafting down it, and, when they doused their lanterns, leaving them behind, they could see a soft light at the far end.

Single-file, they made their way through, and out, into the open air at the base of the cliffs not far from the village. The storm looked far more angry from the outside - a tall wall of thrashing sand surrounding it for miles. She had seen Gaara's techniques plenty of times, but this looked slightly daunting. Temari gripped at her fan in anticipation.

The group ran toward it, encountering the first rogue ninjas more quickly than she'd expected.

Without a second thought, she was sending slicing bursts of wind, fan swinging. Shikamaru would loosely capture some, shadows racing along the ground, and she would incapacitate them. He worked far better with his team, but they'd grown into their own few techniques over the years.

Gaara appeared to be doing most of the work himself - sweeping aside entire groups with his sand.

She was preoccupied with watching when Shikamaru sent lines of shadow-stitching to the space behind her, where another ninja had poised to attack her, kunai raised. Temari let loose a breath, mentally berating herself for becoming distracted - before she found herself clubbing off two more attackers.

She swept her gaze over the area - it appeared more were arriving as reinforcement, having sensed the commotion. Things could get ugly quickly.

"You should get behind my back, Nara!" Temari shouted over the noise, kicking a ninja with chakra crackling over his hands in the face so hard that his nose cracked. Whatever his technique was, she didn't want to take the time to find out.

"It's better to keep track of you when you're close by!"

Shikamaru complied, but scoffed, turning slightly to glare at her, "Says the person who was just rescued by me?"

She sent a cloud of shuriken on another burst of wind to his left, where three more ninja had approached him. They sagged and fell to the ground.

"That makes us even." Temari declared.

The waves of reinforcements almost became overwhelming - they soon found themselves fending off attack after attack. Her sweat stung her eyes and she was glad for her gloves, because she was sure her fan would slip from her fingers, otherwise. They were all exceptional fighters, but when outnumbered, it didn't make things very easy.

And Shikamaru was definitely nearing his limit - he might be a phenomenal strategist, but his techniques, while improved, were incapable of being used at length.

It occurred to her, then, that, normally, he wouldn't even bother to engage in such risky combat. As if to reinforce that thought, she saw a glint of light out in the far dunes.

Soon, Leaf Ninja began to appear out of practically nowhere.

"You were betting on their reinforcement, weren't you?" Temari asked, grinning in spite of their being surrounded by twenty rogue ninjas. The message that had been sent had, clearly, reached them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shikamaru lied brazenly.

Among them, she recognized Ino, Chouji and Sai. The former two fought their way through over to Shikamaru and Temari, while Sai took to the sky and dispatched a good deal of a group surrounding several Sand ninjas.

"Sorry I can't be of a lot of use right now." Shikamaru gasped tiredly at his teammates.

"Since when have you ever been of use?" Ino snorted, flipping her long, blonde ponytail. Chouji sighed.

"Where's your sensory ninja?" Ino asked Temari.

Perhaps it was due to spending so much time with an obnoxious strategist that Temari immediately understood. "He should be over by Gaara!"

Ino nodded her thanks and left.

"Don't tell me you planned this out days ago." Temari eyed Shikamaru.

"Well…" Shikamaru shrugged, "Not exactly. I knew what to do once we'd made it out here, but I had no idea of _how_ we'd leave the village, exactly. Or if my original plan would work at all."

Exhaustedly, she swept away another oncoming attack with her fan.

Shikamaru smiled (he really had a pleasant smile, though he didn't care to show it much) "But I have you to thank for that. Like I said - I knew you could do it."

A lot of immensely cheesy thoughts raced through Temari's head, but she settled for a punch to his shoulder and a "I suppose I wouldn't have expected less from you, either."

Chouji coughed politely, interrupting their conversation. "It looks like she's already taken care of things." He nodded over to Gaara's group.

With the assistance of the sensor, they pinpointed one of the nearby casters for the storm. With a startling swiftness, Ino had taken control of them and dissolved the jutsu. She'd become pretty formidable with long-range mind control. Temari found herself wishing the Sand had someone as talented.

Their group had been set up to defend and clear the way, so the Leaf could quickly take out the casters when they arrived.

Slowly, the storm began to dissipate.

Shortly after, Kankuro and the others arrived, gathering up the rest of the stragglers of rogue ninjas. (Not before complaining a bit that they'd left nothing for him to do and he'd gotten his puppets all ready for the job.)

As Shikamaru spoke with some of the Leaf company, a (very tired looking) Maki was stopped by Temari as she passed by.

"Why are you out here?" Temari asked, a bit bemused.

Maki embarrassedly rubbed at her neck. "Defending my village, I guess. I wasn't about to let a little fatigue get in the way."

"Well, you've done a commendable job in helping the defense today already, I think." Temari laughed. "Really. Thank you for your help."

Maki hand-waved it away. "Could say the same to you! But, really, I'm glad to help. Oh," She added. "And by the way, glad to hear you and your boyfriend made up."

Temari knew her face was growing red, but she also felt herself grinning. "Thanks, Maki."

The sandstorm began to quiet and the bright sun shone overhead.


	11. Chapter 11

_And the final chapter! I might take some time to write an epilogue, eventually, but I hope you've enjoyed this and didn't find it too boring or anticlimactic, lol._

_This is the first lengthy sort of fic I've written and I attempted to hold it together and tie things up as best as I could! I've really appreciated the comments and faves and follows!_

_Thank you so much for reading!_

* * *

Over the course of a few days, the Sand Village had returned to going about their daily lives.

Two days after, Gaara addressed the council and the leader of the border ninjas they'd captured. The dissident groups' village had, some years before, been the victim of an unprovoked attack on the part of the Leaf. (And clearly wanted nothing to do with them, nor did they want an alliance.)

As Kazekage, Gaara acknowledged that the group were right in their anger at the injustice against them, and that what happened to them was unforgivable, but that he was willing to negotiate with the Leaf to bring those old attackers to justice.

The leader stood, awkwardly staring at his feet, and agreed to the compromise. (Though how the Leaf might handle it was still up for debate. In the past, they had not always managed their internal affairs very well, nor meted out penalties as they probably should. (Though the Sand hadn't been much better in that regard, either, probably.) But it was a solution nonetheless. And if they did not follow the fair judgment on the part of the Sand, there would be consequences.)

Several of the Leaf ninja also attended the meeting, Shikamaru included, said they would do what they could.

Afterward, Gaara did not hesitate to applaud the work of both the Sand and Leaf in protecting the village - Temari, Shikamaru, Maki, Ino, Kankuro… all had contributed an incredible effort. He went on to say that he hoped further exchange and aid would be as successful and that the Sand would continue to hold true to their alliance.

* * *

Shortly following, the Leaf departed, returning to their own village. As they left along the main road, Ino and Chouji paused, looking back to Shikamaru, who was talking with Temari. "You coming with or not, Shikamaru?" Ino called.

He turned, scowling a bit bashfully. "Uh… Well." He placed a hand on Temari's shoulder. "I think I might remain in the Sand a little longer. That is - if I'm not needed in the Leaf, currently."

When it finally hit them, Chouji's eyebrows shot up and Ino almost couldn't suppress her excitement. "No way. Seriously?!"

"Although." She said as an aside to Temari, after she'd hugged them both in congratulations, "Not sure what you'd see in a lazy goof like him."

Temari laughed, "Don't worry, I give him plenty of work to do."

Ino nodded in approval. "That's good, then."

Chouji also swept them all up into a tight hug, sniffling slightly, before they hurried off to catch up with the others.

* * *

Two weeks later, Temari found herself reluctantly following him once more along the main road to the canyon gate one early morning.

"Sort of a weird role-reversal, isn't it?" Shikamaru noted. "I'm usually the one saying goodbye to you."

Temari laughed at that, although she felt a strange loneliness.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, a bit grumpily and awkwardly trying to delay their farewell.

"So, the next time we'll meet up is for the Exams this year in the Leaf." He said.

"Maybe… Maybe we can manage something sooner, though." Temari suggested.

"I'll see what I can do." Shikamaru agreed.

"Should we get married?" She asked suddenly, head feeling light. She almost immediately regretted asking it, but forced herself to stand where she was.

"I don't know." His eyes widened. "Should we?"

"We might end up killing each other." Temari said.

"I haven't ruled out the possibilities." He said. "But I'm pretty sure there are only a small percentage of them."

"You might want to re-count those possibilities." Temari smirked. "But I'm surprised you've considered it, too."

Closing in, she leaned forward to kiss him, embracing as the sun began to rise across the walls.

"We'll work something out." He told her, stalling a bit longer to kiss her again.

* * *

As she watched him disappear among the dunes, she no longer felt quite so small and solitary. She had her village and her work. And she couldn't have been happier about that.

And she knew he would be coming back.


End file.
